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1 Introduction
1.1 Background to the study
Bangladesh is frequently cited as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, due to its disadvantageous geographic location: flat and low-lying topography; high population density; high levels of poverty; reliance of many livelihoods on climate-sensitive sectors, particularly agriculture and fisheries; and inefficient institutional aspects (Climate Change Cell, 2006). Many of the anticipated adverse effects from climate change, such as salinity intrusion due to sea level rise, higher temperatures, enhanced monsoon precipitation and an increase in cyclone intensity, will aggravate the existing stresses that already impede development in Bangladesh (Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2005). Ultimately, these impacts could be extremely detrimental to the economy, the environment, national development and the people of Bangladesh now and into the future (Reid & Sims, 2007).
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted that Bangladesh is slated to lose large amounts of its land due to rising sea levels and, if sea levels rise up to one metre this century, Bangladesh could lose up to 20 per cent of its land mass and up to 30 million Bangladeshis could become climate refugees (Harasawa, 2006). Cyclonic winds are also likely to increase in intensity, because of the positive correlation with sea surface temperature (United Nations Development Programme, 2007). Sea level rise is a critical issue for large population in coastal areas and islands particularly. Inhabitants living on low-lying coastal plains are also at risk from floods and displacement from the coastal zone. Rising temperatures in the region are also likely to continue with global warming. The effect on future rainfall is uncertain, but future climate change could have a profound impact on the monsoon, which underpins the rainfall regime. In addition, droughts, cyclones and intense rainfall events, saltwater intrusion and erosion are also likely to continue to increase (IPCC, 2001; IPCC, 2007).
In Bangladesh, 140,000 people died from the flood-related effects of Cyclone Gorky in 1991. Within that number, women outnumbered men by approximately 93 per cent (14:1 in ratio). Women also represented an estimated 61 per cent of fatalities in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis in 2008 and 70 per cent of those who died during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia (World Bank, 2011a). Reid and Sims (2007) suggest that in 2007, during Cyclone Sidr and the subsequent floods in Bangladesh, the death rate was reportedly five times higher for women than for men. This was because women were not allowed to leave their homes in the absence of a male relative and so many waited (until it was too late) for their male relatives to return. Another report says the effects of longer-term climate change may be felt more acutely by women where their endowments, agency and opportunities are not equal to or are more climate- sensitive than those of men (World Bank, 2011b). Changes to water resources and hydrology will also have a major impact on Bangladesh, where people depend on the surface water for fish cultivation, navigation, industry and other uses, and where the groundwater is used for domestic purposes and irrigation. Women are the main users and carriers of water. As the availability and quality of water declines and resources become scarcer, women will suffer increasing workloads to collect unsalinated water to sustain their families (Huq & Ayers, 2008). Overall, women also have less exposure to disaster-related training and information, such as early warning systems, than men (UN, 2009).
A 2007 study of 141 natural disasters over the years 1981–2002 found that, when economic and social rights are realised equally for both sexes, disaster-related death rates do not differ significantly for men or women. However, when women’s rights and socio-economic status are not equal to those of men, more women die in disasters (Neumayer & Plümper, 2007). In the context of climate change, the World Bank makes three major statements: (i) women are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters and climate change where their rights and socio-economic status are not equal to those of men; (ii) empowerment of women is an important ingredient in building climate resilience; and (iii) low-emissions development pathways can be more effective and more equitable where they are designed using a gender-informed approach (World Bank, 2011b). Evidence is mounting that empowering women to create institutional platforms that expand their own, their families’ and their communities’ endowments, agency and opportunities can serve as a powerful springboard for building climate resilience more generally (World Bank, 2011b). Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand women’s livelihoods and vulnerability to grow awareness and address their vulnerabilities appropriately, and build resilience to climate change for the sustainable future of Bangladesh.
1.2 Rationale for this book
The impact of climate change is extremely visible and already felt in Bangladesh. Available literature suggests that women in particular are the most vulnerable group to be affected by climate change impacts. Women are affected differently and more severely than men by climate change and natural disasters due to: high gender-based discrimination against women; unequal power relations between men and women; less access to assets and resources; and, overall, fewer capabilities and opportunities for adjustment to related vulnerabilities (UN, 2009).
With 160 million people, Bangladesh is the world’s densest nation, with the exception of the city states (e.g. Singapore, Hong Kong). Moreover, about one-quarter of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from agriculture, which makes the country’s economy relatively sensitive to climate variability and change (World Bank, 2011c). The per capita income in Bangladesh is US$ 1110 (2013–14) and around one-third (32 per cent) of the people in Bangladesh live below the poverty line (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2015). Gender-poverty links show that around 70 per cent of the poor in the world are women and that their vulnerability is accentuated by some factors such as race, ethnicity and age (CCC, 2009). In Bangladesh, women constitute almost half of the total population and they are not only socially discriminated against, but are also subject to a variety of threats, exploitation and harassment. In particular, rural women are educationally, politically and socially disadvantaged, resulting in economic dependency and increased vulnerabilities (Sarker, 2007). The status of Bangladeshi women has been ranked as the lowest in the world on the basis of 20 indicators related to health, marriage, children, education, employment and social equality (UN Women, 2000). Growing empirical evidence supports the broad view that women’s overall lower access to assets and services, and their levels of political and social recognition make them more vulnerable than men to the effects of climate change and natural disasters (World Bank, 2011b).
Although it is generally stated that women are relatively more vulnerable than men in the context of climate change, few studies so far have examined this statement, especially in Bangladesh. Until recently, studies on climate change have mostly focused on the physical consequences of climate change and their technical solutions, rather than on gender dimensions. Women in particular suffer differently from the impacts of climate change; they have different needs, knowledge, management practices and strategies for coping with the manifestations of climate change. There has, however, been a very limited amount of research in Bangladesh that has analysed the positive and negative impacts of climate change on gender. A gender-disaggregated approach is thus required to shed more light on the livelihood of women and the degree of livelihood vulnerability that exist, as well as to identify appropriate adaptation mechanisms.
The aim of this book is to analyse the impacts of climate change on the livelihoods of women in the disaster vulnerable coastal areas of Bangladesh. It investigates the structure of women’s livelihoods, vulnerabilities and their adaptive capacity to climate change by applying a gender-sensitive Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF). The study will empirically measure the outcome of different livelihood strategies of women to climate change in a specific context, that is, in disaster vulnerable coastal areas of Bangladesh. The findings will help to address climate change problems more specifically, raise awareness and improve knowledge in the context of gender sensitivity. It will also provide policy makers with a future action plan which considers adaptive capacity and opportunities to reduce climate-induced risks for women throughout the nation.
1.3 Layout of the book
This book is divided into eight chapters. A brief description of each chapter is provided here.
Chapter 2 provides a brief overview of Bangladesh to introduce the country to the reader. The chapter then focuses on the key areas of the climate change effects in Bangladesh that have been experienced in the last decades. A review on the status of the rural women in Bangladesh is presented in the next section. The chapter then briefly discusses the climate change effects on women’s livelihoods overall. In Chapter 3 a discussion on the theoretical and methodological aspects is included to provide the global context of the themes discussed in this book. Under the theoretical framework, an understanding of the SLF that is used to assess the livelihood of women in the context of climate variability and extremes is provided. This chapter then briefly discusses the concept of vulnerability in the context of climate change, and presents a Disaster Crunch Model (DCM) that helps to assess vulnerability. In addition, the chapter explains two methods of vulnerability measurements, the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and the IPCC-LVI.
Chapter 4 presents an overview of the geographical and socio-economic setting of the study area, and how the livelihoods of people in this rural area are connected to serious climate change effects. Chapter 5 investigates the livelihoods of women in the study area following SLF approach. Five livelihood capitals – namely human, natural, financial, social and physical – that directly help to construct livelihood, are assessed to understand women’s particular livelihoods in a disaster susceptible setting. Moreover, the chapter compares the livelihoods of women in relation to a trigger point (Cyclone Aila in 2009) to see how a climate-induced disaster like this may impact upon and change the livelihood setting of women in the study area. Chapter 6 identifies the key vulnerabilities of women’s livelihoods in the context of climate change. It explains how different climate change events affect the livelihoods of women and their coping mechanism. The chapter also examines women’s positions in respect to their access to major welfare facilities that can potentially help reduce their climate-induced vulnerabilities. Chapter 7 presents a concrete measurement of vulnerability of women by computing an LVI and an IPCC-LVI. These two quantitative measures give vulnerability scores based on some components and subcomponents of livelihood capitals by which the degree of vulnerability can be realised. Chapter 8 draws conclusions on the livelihood vulnerability of women in a disaster-prone coastal area of Bangladesh that can be generalised for similar geographical and cultural settings in developing areas. Recommendations are made for improving the livelihood of rural women in the coastal areas of Bangladesh.
References
BBS. (2015). Highlights. Dhaka: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistics and Informatics Division (SID), Ministry of Planning, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Retrieved from www.bbs.gov.bd/home.aspx
Climate Change Cell (CCC). (2006). Who is doing what in Bangladesh? Dhaka: Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Climate Change Cell (CCC). (2009). Climate change, gender and vulnerable groups in Bangladesh. Dhaka: Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Harasawa, H. (2006). Key vulnerabilities and critical levels of impacts on East and Southeast Asia. In H. J. Schellnhuber, W. Cramer, N. Nakicenovic, T. Wigley, & G. Yohe (Eds.), Avoiding dangerous climate change (pp. 243–249). Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
Huq, S., & Ayers, J. (2008). Climate change impacts and responses in Bangladesh. Briefing note prepared for the European Parliament, DG Internal Policies of the Union, Policy Department, Economic and Scientific Policy, European Parliament.
IPCC. (2001). Climate change 2001: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (1032 pp.). Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
IPCC. (2007). Climate change 2007: The physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (996 pp.). Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
MoEF. (2005). National adaptation programme of action (NAPA): Final report. Dhaka: Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Reid, H., & Sims, A. (2007). Up in smoke? Asia and the Pacific: The threat from climate change to human development and the environment. The Fifth Report from the Working Group on Climate Change and Development, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (92 pp.).
Sarker, S. (2007, July 17–20). Globalization and women at work: A feminist discourse. Paper presented at International Feminist Summit, Townsville, Australia.
UN (2009). Towards a Gender-Sensitive Agenda for Energy, Environment and Climate Change. United Nations Expert Paper. p. 3.
UN Women. (2000, June 5–9). The 23rd special session of the UN general assembly with the theme “Beijing + 5 – women 2000: Gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century,” held in the General Assembly, New York.
UNDP. (2007). Human development report 2007–08: Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world. New York: United Nations Development Programme, Palgrave Macmillan.
World Bank. (2011a). Making women’s voices count: Integrating gender issues in disaster risk management in Asia and Pacific region (Operational Guidance Notes). Washington, DC: The World Bank.
World Bank. (2011b). Gender and climate change: Three things you should know (p. 7). Washington, DC: The Social Development Department, The World Bank.
World Bank. (2011c). World development report 2012. Washington, DC: Gender Equality and Development, The World Bank.
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2 Climate change impacts and women in Bangladesh
This chapter provides an overview of Bangladesh and its related climate change effects. In addition, it discusses the status of rural women in Bangladesh who reside within the context of vulnerability and risk created by climate change, with a particular focus on the specific climate change impacts on them.
2.1 Background information on Bangladesh
2.1.1 Geographical location of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a South Asian country located between 20 and 26 degrees north latitude and 88 and 92 degrees east longitude. It is formed by a deltaic plain at the confluence of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna) and Meghna Rivers and their tributaries (Global Assessment Report, 2011). The total land area, which is 1...
